The Ball Poem

🏀 Poem 2: The Ball Poem

By John Berryman

✅ Summary (Easy English):

This is a serious and emotional poem.
A boy loses his ball. The ball is cheap, but the boy is very sad.
The poet says the boy is not sad just because he lost a toy — he is learning something big:
→ How it feels to lose something for the first time.
He learns that we live in a world full of things we can lose — people, toys, memories.
The poet does not offer him a new ball. He lets the boy understand that loss is a part of life, and we must learn to stand up again.

🇮🇳 सारांश (हिंदी में):

यह एक गंभीर और भावनात्मक कविता है।
एक लड़के की गेंद खो जाती है। वह बहुत दुखी है, हालाँकि गेंद सस्ती थी।
कवि कहता है कि लड़का सिर्फ गेंद खोने से दुखी नहीं है, वह एक बड़ा सबक सीख रहा है:
→ पहली बार कुछ खोने का दर्द।
अब वह समझता है कि हम ऐसी दुनिया में रहते हैं जहाँ हम चीजें खो सकते हैं — लोग, खिलौने, यादें।
कवि उसे नई गेंद नहीं देता, ताकि वह खुद समझे कि खोना भी ज़िंदगी का हिस्सा है, और हमें खुद को फिर से संभालना आना चाहिए।

🏀 The Ball Poem – Easy Answers

1. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball?

Answer:
The poet says this because the boy is very sad. He wants the boy to learn the value of loss on his own. Giving him money won’t help him understand the real feeling of losing something special.

**2. “… staring down/All his young days into the harbour where/His ball went …”

Do you think the boy had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to his memories?**
Answer:
Yes, the boy had the ball for a long time. It reminded him of his childhood and happy moments. That’s why he is so sad — it is not just a ball, but a part of his past.

3. What does “in the world of possessions” mean?

Answer:
It means a world where people own things — like toys, clothes, or money. The poem says the boy is now learning how painful it can be to lose something we own and love.

4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out words that suggest the answer.

Answer:
No, this is probably his first big loss. The line “He senses first responsibility” tells us that he is learning for the first time how it feels to lose something important.

5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Explain in your own words.

Answer:
The boy is learning that things in life can be lost — and no one can always replace them. This is part of growing up. He is learning how to deal with loss and move on.

6. Have you ever lost something you liked very much? Write a paragraph.

Example Answer:
Yes, I once lost my favourite pencil box in school. It had cartoon stickers and colourful pens. I felt very bad and looked for it everywhere, but it was gone. After some time, I accepted it and got a new one — but I still miss the old one sometimes!